Which court form do I need? A step-by-step decision tree for possession claims

Court forms are only confusing because most guidance describes the whole system at once. In practice, which form you need comes down to five or six branching questions. Work through them in order and you'll land on the right form within a couple of minutes.

This page is the deep-dive version of the quick reference on the court forms hub — use it when you want the full decision tree, including the trespasser branch, the arrears-only online route, and enforcement once you've already got an order.

Start here: the decision tree

1. Is the property in Wales? If yes, stop — none of the forms below apply. Wales runs on the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, a separate statutory scheme with its own notices and procedure. Go to our guide to possession in Wales instead. Everything else on this page is for properties in England.

2. Is the occupier a tenant at all, or a trespasser/squatter with no right to be there? If they're a trespasser — someone who moved in without your permission and has never had a tenancy — you don't use Form N119. You pair Form N5 with Form N121, the particulars of claim designed specifically for trespassers. See "The trespasser branch" below for the full detail.

3. Are you seeking possession of the property, or only money? If the tenant has already left and you just want to recover rent arrears or damage from them, you don't need a possession form at all — go straight to Form N1, the general Part 7 claim form. Possession forms (N5, N5B, N119, N121) only apply while you're still trying to get the property back.

4. Is this a lodger, not a tenant? Lodgers sharing accommodation with a resident landlord are usually licensees, not tenants, and fall outside the Part 55 possession procedure this whole page describes. Ending a licence is a different, generally simpler process based on giving reasonable notice — but because the tenant/lodger distinction is fact-sensitive, get advice if it's contested.

5. Did you serve a Section 21 notice before 1 May 2026, and did you already issue a claim on it within the transitional window? That transitional window — issuing by the earlier of six months after service or 31 July 2026 — has now closed. If you already issued a claim on Form N5B within it, that claim continues under the old rules. If you didn't issue in time, the notice is no longer usable and N5B is not available to you — see what replaced Form N5B for why, and use the standard route below instead.

6. Otherwise: the standard route. This is where almost every claim now lands. Form 3A (the Section 8 notice) served on the tenant first, notice period runs out, tenant still there → issue Form N5 plus Form N119 at the County Court.

7. Is it arrears-only, under Grounds 8, 10 and/or 11, with no complications? If so, you can use Possession Claim Online (PCOL) instead of the paper N5+N119 — but only for assured tenancies in England relying solely on those rent-arrears grounds. Any other ground, or any complication, and you're back to paper N5+N119.

8. Order granted, tenant still won't leave — what now? Straightforward case → Form N325 for a warrant of possession. Suspended order breached over a payment condition → Form N325A; suspended order breached over a different condition (e.g. behavioural) → Form N244 instead. Want faster (but pricier) enforcement by High Court Enforcement Officers instead of county court bailiffs → transfer using Form N244 plus Form N293A.

Working through the standard route in full

Once Form 3A has been served and the relevant Section 8 ground(s) notice period has expired without the tenant leaving, the sequence is:

1. Issue Form N5 (claim form) with Form N119 (particulars of claim) at the County Court.
2. The claim is served on the tenant; Form N215 is the certificate of service confirming this happened (completed by whoever carried out the service).
3. The tenant has 14 days from service to respond with Form N11R — not plain N11 (see our N11 vs N11R page). Possession claims disapply the usual acknowledgment-of-service extension available in ordinary civil claims, so this 14-day period doesn't extend just because Form N9 is filed.
4. A hearing is listed. If a possession order is granted and the tenant still doesn't leave, move to enforcement (Step 8 above).

The trespasser branch

If the occupier never had any tenancy — a squatter, or someone who moved in without permission — Form N119 is the wrong particulars of claim. Pair Form N5 with Form N121 instead, which is drafted for claims against people whose name you may not even know. Everything downstream (hearing, N325 enforcement) works the same way once the correct particulars have been filed.

The money-only branch

If the tenant has already vacated and there's nothing left to possess — you just want the arrears or damage repaid — none of the possession forms apply. Use Form N1, the general Part 7 claim form used for ordinary debt claims, not Form N5.

Reference table: scenario, form(s), current fee

Scenario	Form(s) needed	Current fee*
Standard possession claim (any Section 8 ground)	Form 3A notice → Form N5 + Form N119	£415 to issue
Transitional accelerated procedure — window closed 31 July 2026, only relevant if you already issued in time	Form N5B	£415 to issue
Arrears-only claim, Grounds 8/10/11, assured tenancy	Possession Claim Online (PCOL), in place of paper N5+N119	£415 to issue
Trespasser / squatter, no tenancy	Form N5 + Form N121	£415 to issue
Money only, tenant already left	Form N1 (Part 7)	Based on amount claimed
Enforcing an order — straightforward	Form N325 (warrant of possession)	£152
Enforcing a breached suspended order — payment condition	Form N325A	£152
Enforcing a breached suspended order — other condition	Form N244	£321 (on notice) or £126 (by consent/without notice)
Applying to vary or suspend a judgment, order or warrant	Form N244	£16
Transfer to High Court for HCEO enforcement	Form N244 + Form N293A	£321 (on notice) or £126 (by consent/without notice) for N244

*Fees shown are from 13 July 2026 under SI 2026/642 as amended by SI 2026/665. Court fees change from time to time — check the current fee before you issue.

Lodgers, licences, and other edge cases

Not every occupier fits neatly into this tree. Lodgers living with a resident landlord typically hold a licence rather than a tenancy, and the Part 55 possession procedure — and every form described above — is built for tenancies, not licences. Ending a licence usually turns on giving reasonable notice under its own terms rather than a Section 8 or Section 21-style notice, and if it becomes contested, the route back to court can look quite different from anything on this page. The same caution applies to unusual occupancy arrangements — company lets, agricultural tenancies, or occupiers whose status is genuinely disputed. Where the facts don't cleanly match one branch of this tree, treat that as a signal to get advice rather than to guess.

Not legal advice

This page sets out general information about which County Court form typically applies to which situation in England, based on the forms and fees in force at the time of writing. It is not legal advice, and Tenancy Agreement Service is not a law firm or an SRA-regulated provider of legal services. Court procedure, forms and fees change, and individual cases often turn on facts this page can't anticipate. If your situation is contested, unusual, or high-value, take advice from a qualified professional before you issue anything.